


On Having a Winter Birthday

by level_devil



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fluff, M/M, a little bittersweet, not so subtle use of quenya, shiro birthday exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2019-03-25 10:32:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13832322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/level_devil/pseuds/level_devil
Summary: Keith wants Shiro's birthday to be special. Everyone is on board with his plan, except mother nature.





	On Having a Winter Birthday

**Author's Note:**

> Shiro birthday exchange gift for [stumbling-while-balancing](http://stumbling-while-balancing.tumblr.com/)! I really enjoyed your request a lot. Fantasy AUs are my favorite. I hope you enjoy this!

Keith glared morosely at the foggy, gray dawn breaking over the forest surrounding their fort. After a bitter defeat and months of relentless pursuit by the Galra, Keith and his team retreated to the outpost, an old, abandoned fort deep in the forested foothills of Arus' craggy mountain range. Coran had visited the outpost decades before, and led them to it once they escaped Galra-held territory. It was a good, defensible position, and old enough to be unknown to their enemy. Despite those factors, autumn and winter had dragged on, cold and miserable. Spring was struggling to arrive, and the heavy, cold morning fog rolling under a steel gray sky threatened to ruin their plans with a downpour. Keith shuttered the kitchen window and turned to watch Hunk work instead.

“The rain is going to ruin everything, Hunk.”

“Nah, we’ll just have to do it inside,” Hunk said, “It’s not a problem.”

Hunk stood at the kitchen’s large work table, back to the fireplace as he expertly cut small fruits. They were native to Arus, and the only thing Hunk had been able to procure for the occasion. Keith watched Hunk’s dark, quick hands filet a series of berries into delicate fans.

“I wanted everything to be perfect for Shiro. Not only are we all together for once, but its his actual birthday this year.”

“I know, man. We all do.” Hunk nodded as he worked. “It’s a big deal. Especially after-” He stopped and glanced up. Keith’s glare soured further, gaze going distant, and Hunk averted his attention completely to the jam simmering in an iron pot over the fire.

“Keith. We’ll work it out. I promise.”

“Work what out?” Shiro’s voice in the kitchen startled them. He entered quietly, boots silent on the stone floor. His hair and tunic damp from going out in the early morning mist. Hunk tossed a towel over his project. While Hunk stammered, Keith went to Shiro and reached up to brush the white bangs out of his face. The gentle touch eased the concerned crease on Shiro’s brow to a fond smile instead.

“Hunk and I were discussing lunch. Nothing you need to worry about.”

“Sounded serious.”

“It’s Pidge’s turn on rotation,” Keith said. 

Shiro drew a sharp breath and groaned.

“I can endure a lot, but her beef stew is pushing it,” Shiro said. “That stringy, overdone meat and those globs of fat...”

“Shiro! No, stop.” Hunk flopped his hand at them, then clapped it over his mouth. His complexion went a little green around the edges. The hand over his mouth muffled his words.“Just thinking about it is gonna make me sick. Go!”

On that note, Keith shuffled Shiro out of the kitchen and away from Hunk’s project. Shiro would consider their meal safe in Hunk’s capable hands, and Keith counted himself lucky that Shiro hadn’t noticed the obvious evasion.

-

After seeing Shiro off to his quarters to change out of damp clothes, Keith left to find Pidge. The young spy was in the fort’s former meeting hall, now transformed into lodging for their lions. Unlike the sumptuous great hall of Altea’s fallen castle, the lions’ newer accommodations were sparse and rustic. The long, low building was sturdy. The wooden structure had needed few repairs when they arrived, but it was simplistic and lacked ornamentation. Keith trudged through the cold damp and let himself in to the lodge.

Inside it was drier, the air warmed by the central firepit and an Altean enchantment Allura laid months prior when they arrived. Despite the spell, neither Keith nor Pidge were spared from the morning damp turning their hair into fluffy curls. The hall was mostly empty, the stone floor covered in a layer of straw. Pidge knelt with her lion near the fire, and ran a thick brush through Green’s fur. The feline lay supine, belly exposed and one rear paw hanging in the air as she rumbled a deep, satisfied purr. She didn’t bother looking up when Keith entered, or when he spoke.

“If you see Shiro this morning, he thinks you’re on lunch duty,” Keith said. “So he may try to swap with you.”

“He still doesn’t know I’m permanently off meal rotations?”

“Pidge. You know he forgets things now.”

“Oh, yeah.” She winced, shoulders hunching. “Sorry.”

Keith’s lion bumped into him, her large, warm head butting against his lower back. She demanded his attention, and as he stroked her head, Keith let her sniff and nose at his pockets. Lance and Hunk’s lions slept nearby, but when he looked around, Black was missing.

“Pidge. Where’s Black?”

“She went hunting, I think, while on patrol with Shiro. When I saw him earlier, he said she’d come back later on her own.”

“He didn’t mention that to me.”

“You threatened him with my cooking. He probably forgot all about it.” Pidge looked at him again and grinned this time. “None of the other lions seem concerned. It’s probably fine.”

Lance and Hunk’s lions slept on, close to the smoldering embers of the previous night’s fire. Together they made an enormous pile of long limbs and rumbling purrs. Their lazy, casual tangle implied that they did not have a single worry.

“Pidge, I need you to keep an eye on Shiro this morning. We’re having to change plans because of the weather, and I don’t want him to accidentally spoil the surprise.”

“He’ll figure out I’m not on lunch duty if I’m with him all morning.”

“Then don’t let him see you. Just keep an eye on him and make sure he stays out of the kitchen.”

“You got it, captain.” She saluted sloppily, still grinning. “It’ll be fun trying to tail him without getting caught.”

-

By late morning the dense fog turned into the heavy, cold rain Keith feared. It beat steadily on the fort, forcing them all inside the main building. From Allura’s high, third-floor window, Keith watched the rain fall in wavering sheets, drenching the courtyard and running in thick rivulets across the window panes. Nearby, Allura sat at her desk, wrapping a small gift in an embroidered cloth. Keith heaved a deep sigh and turned away from the window.

“You have no idea how much I wish you could do a spell or something to stop this rain.”

“I’ve told you many times Keith that magic does not work that way.” Allura stilled her hands and watched him, lips pursed.

“We had everything planned out. It was going to be perfect.”

“An impossibility.”

“Then, as nice as possible.” Keith grit his teeth in frustration, hunched his shoulders, and crossed his arms. “The weather’s been nice, until yesterday. Lance picked out a great spot. Shiro was gonna be outside, in the sun…now its raining and gray, and we’re all gonna be stuck inside.”

“Then, we shall have to find the perfect indoor spot,” Allura said gently.

“It’s still inside, no matter where we go. He’s been inside for so long, even now that we have him back. I just want... “ Frustration strangled Keith’s argument. He sighed again and pushed his hands back through his hair.

Allura rose to stand next to him. She put a gentle hand on his shoulder and after a moment of silent compassion passed between them, Keith’s expression and posture relaxed. He recognized the attempt to mollify his sour mood without discussing Shiro’s prolonged captivity and appreciated her candor.

“Come,” she said. “I have some hours to spare this morning. Together we should be able to come up with something.”

Keith knew it was a lie. Allura seldom had a moment to herself, nevermind time to spare on the frivolous matters of her paladins. He watched her put on her cloak and boots.

“Are we going outside?” he asked.

“Of course. If we cannot take Shiro’s party outdoors, then we should simply bring it inside instead.”

-

Lance already had decorations underway when Keith and Allura tramped into the kitchen, cloaks dripping and their arms laden with heavy, wet pine boughs. Lance watched them track water and mud across the stones, and his expression brightened as the earthy fragrance of sap wafted in around them.

“Allura, those are perfect! Just what we needed in here,” Lance said. 

Supplies were severely limited at their fort, but somehow Lance turned up enough materials to make simple fabric garlands. His pile of fabric, leather strips and twine took over the kitchen table after Hunk cleared his baking away. Most of Lance’s cloth was faded and worn, but he had torn it all into strips and arranged them in colorful bunches. He had begun hanging the swags in a criss-cross fashion from the ceiling rafters. Lance made room for them and watched the pair lay out the branches on the table.

“I have some twine and a few leather straps left. Think we can hang those branches?”

“Yes.” Allura nodded and grasped several thin branches. “Let us try this way first.”

She arranged them in an attractive spray, then directed Lance to wrap the bundle with twine. Keith watched them work together, moving easily around each other as they decided what looked best. Allura and Lance both had great skill at making things beautiful, while Keith’s talents lay with blades, and starting fights and fires. He felt extraneous, and poked at one of Lance’s garlands and tried to figure out where he found the material. Old garments?

Approaching footsteps, and a voice humming an old Altean ballad announced Coran just before he strode into the kitchen.

“Look sharp, sproutlings!” Coran’s cheerful mood seemed to further warm the room. He carried a crate that immediately caught Keith’s attention, it’s top askew and contents glowing.

“Those aren’t bombs are they?” Lance’s attention also locked onto the strange box, sharing Keith’s apprehension.

“No,” Coran said, “And yes.”

“Not comforted by your Altean ambiguity, Coran.” Lance put his hands on his hips and peeked into the box.

“Why, that’s lairë silmë, isn’t it?” Allura dropped her pine bough to look inside the crate instead. She lifted out a small glass ball filled with winking lights. “I’ve not seen this in many long years indeed.”

“Aye, perhaps since your coming of age gala.”

Keith and Lance shared a glance at each other. ‘Many years’ to Alteans meant a long, long time by human standards.

“It’s a simple enough thing to conjure,” Coran continued, “but doing it inside, especially around your decorations, is a recipe for disaster. So, I asked young Pidge to help me contain it.”

“And you trust those little glass baubles she made?” Lance eyed the orb suspiciously when Allura passed it to his hands.

“They won’t be pleasant if dropped, but just hanging around as decorations should be perfectly safe.” Coran paused. “Mostly safe. Probably won’t explode?”

“After that dubious promise of safety, I’m absolutely ready to hang these over our party.” Lance passed the orb off to Keith, and went back to the pine garlands. “Come on guys, Hunk’s gonna need the kitchen back soon to finish the cake, so we need to finish up.”

Keith stared at the orb in his hands, pulsing with a soft, silver light. It was calming to look at, and as he hung it from the ceiling with a piece of twine, he couldn’t help but think that Shiro would like it. It wasn’t a sunny day, but the fresh pine smelled like the forest and Coran’s lights were a lot like starlight. While not their original plan, things were coming along nicely.

“Hey.” Lance drew Keith’s attention away from the winking lights. “We’ve got this, if you want to head out.”

“There’s nothing I can do to help?”

“Have you seen Shiro since this morning?” 

Keith shook his head, and Lance frowned. 

“Then go. That’s where you should be right now.”

-

Shiro was in his room. Not hiding, as the door stood open, but a familiar ache spread through Keith’s chest to find the other man alone. He knocked on the open door before entering.

“Hey,” Keith said, “How’re you feeling?”

“Fine.” 

Shiro stood to meet him, and Keith heard one of his knees creak loudly.

“Ouch.” Keith winced in sympathy.

“You got that right.” Shiro flexed his knees a few times, slowly. “This cold damp isn’t helping any.”

Keith frowned, a feeling of frustration washing over him. Though the fort felt inadequate, there had been pitiful few choices as they fled.

“Sorry we didn’t have a better place to hole up for the winter,” Keith said. 

“No, it’s fine. The Galra probably have no idea this old fort exists, right? It’s a good position,” Shiro said. “You guys made the right choice.”

An unsettled silence stretched between them, Keith not wanting to continue talking about the Galra and yet struggling to find something else. Silent moments used to be a comfort to them both. Now, too many dark, unknown memories lay between them. It dragged on until Shiro spoke.

“I was going to head down soon and take over lunch duty, so Pidge doesn’t have to do it-”

“No! Uh, Lance took the shift.” Keith never lied well, and his face flushed at the effort. “I asked him to. None of us want Pidge in the kitchen. And especially today, I didn’t want to ruin things.”

“Today?” Shiro smiled a little, finally, a teasing grin. “You mean my birthday?”

“Yeah. You actually get one this year so we have to make it count.” Keith carefully didn’t imply that everyone was so insistent on the matter because Shiro was back with them, alive, though changed in body and spirit, despite all odds being against him. “Which means you shouldn’t be up here hanging out alone.” Keith cast about quickly for any activity that wouldn’t take them outside, or near the kitchen. 

Shiro beat him to it, and was already reaching for his cloak when he said, “Let’s go see the lions.”

“Yeah, lions. That’s a great idea.” Their walk through the rain would be brief, Keith thought, and the lions’ hall was plenty warm and dry. “Let’s go.”

Black was back in the hall when Keith entered this time, and he and Shiro spent a peaceful hour with all five lions. Their idle chatter trailed off into silence, but it was comfortable this time: Keith didn’t feel the distance between them quite so sharply, and the morning’s party anxiety had waned. Instead of worrying, he simply enjoyed the calm moment of closeness.

When Keith declared it time to go back, he held Shiro’s hand as they hurried back through the rain to the main hall. Loud voices in the kitchen drew their attention, and Keith let Shiro lead the way to investigate. As they walked in, a they were welcomed with a cheerful chorus of greetings:

“Happy birthday Shiro!”

“Happy birthday!”

Everyone was gathered under the garlands and Coran’s party lights, smiling. A simple cake, two layers sandwiched with jam and decorated with the fanned fruit, was centered on the table. A few small gifts were piled next to it. Hunk had built the fire again, warming the room, which smelled of cake and forest. Pidge was the first to embrace Shiro, throwing both arms around him where he stood in the doorway, frozen.

“Happy birthday, Shiro!”

As Shiro put an arm around Pidge’s shoulders, he smiled.

“Guys… what is all this?”

“It’s your birthday. We simply must celebrate.” Allura gave him a cup of ale.

“You didn’t have to… do all this.”

“It was nothing.” Lance waved off the comment, and caught Shiro up in a hug as soon as he was free of Pidge. The two slapped each other’s backs, and shared a grin. “You’re worth it, big guy.”

Shiro was passed around and hugged by everyone, until he was back at Keith’s side.

“You should open your gifts.” Keith urged Shiro to sit, and then stood beside his chair, hip braced against the table. Pidge and Hunk sat across from Shiro, face eager. Lance stood with Allura and Coran, on Shiro’s other side. 

Their gifts were all small things, a result of the war that mired Altea, collapsed trade and drove them into hiding. Leather gloves, a stone pendant necklace, and a little box of sweets from Allura, wrapped in a handkerchief that she embroidered. The thoughtful gifts made Shiro’s eyes go misty and his hands tremble as he opened each one slowly. Afterward, when Hunk cut into the cake and passed Shiro a slice, he gaped at the dark color of the cake.

“Is that… cocoa? In the cake?”

“Sure is.” Hunk grinned, glowing with pride at the reaction.

“How on earth did you manage that?”

“Pidge brought some back, after she was on that mission way down south.”

“That was months ago,” Shiro said. 

“Yeah, we’ve been planning for a while.” Pidge reached for the second slice of cake and licked her lips. “The economy is still way more stable down there in Heracles. It’s easier to get things.”

At the first chocolatey bite, Shiro closed his eyes and let out a delighted groan.

“Hunk, this is the best cake I’ve ever had in my life.”

“Yeah, I know.” Hunk kept grinning, but flushed at the compliment. 

“The test cakes were good, too.” Lance said. 

“There were test cakes? And you didn’t share?” Keith said.

“No way! Hunk let Allura and me eat them all.” 

Keith looked from Lance to Allura to confirm, but she only smiled at him.

“It was quite a fun series of experiments. Though I’m surprised neither you nor Shiro noticed the aroma. Hunk made multiple attempts.”

Keith stole a bite of Shiro’s cake, and savored the rich flavor that exploded across his tongue. The cocoa was smooth and delicious, the jam tart, and he groaned in satisfaction even louder than Shiro. Pidge and Lance burst into laughter at him, and Shiro grinned.

“Hunk, you have to give me a slice!” Keith demanded.

“There’s plenty for everyone! I promise.”

Shiro smiled at them all as they drank and ate cake. Everyone settled around the table, happily passing the afternoon in warmth and affection. Lance brought out a deck of Arusian playing cards, and they played games until evening drew on and Hunk readied a stew for their dinner. It was the best day any of them had had in a long time, and the smile on Shiro’s face satisfied Keith. He looked happy and content, surrounded by their friends. Keith smiled too, and was picking the last cake crumbs off his plate when Shiro leaned over to speak to him.

“Did you plan all this?” 

“We all did, together.”

Shiro’s smile softened and the expression brought back the ache in Keith’s chest. The feeling burned, hot and familiar, filling his chest. Suddenly, that yawning distance between them shrank, and the happy sounds of their friends fell away. They embraced tightly, and Keith tucked his face into Shiro’s shoulder to let out a shuddering breath.

“Thank you,” Shiro said quietly. It took a moment for Keith to find his voice before replying.

“Happy birthday, Shiro.”


End file.
